“Do you have any family?” I said.
Alex thought about it.
“A couple of uncles,” he said. “They’re out in California. We don’t talk much. A few years ago, one of them wrote me asking for money.”
“What did you say?”
“I sent him a check for a million dollars and told him either he could cash it, or contact me again. But not both.”
“What?”
“None of them ever cared about me when I was poor,” said Alex. “Why should they care about me now that I’m rich?”
He had a point. But when Alex showed me into his room, I was amazed.
It was like a whole other apartment. A private TV room, with a home entertainment system was on the ground floor. A staircase led up to an enormous bedroom, with wide oak rafter and beams. Alex’s bed was the biggest I’d ever seen, and when I got to the bathroom, I squealed.
“Gold taps!” I gasped. “Gold. Taps.”
“What about ‘em?” said Alex. “I hate them myself, but for some reason, the decorator insisted.”
“We, uh,” I said, “we have this joke at work. That you’re so rich you have gold bath taps.”
“Well now you can tell all your co-workers what a pompous ass I really am.”
“Oh you,” I said. “I’d never say a bad word about you.”
“That’s not true,” said Alex, smiling. He sat down on the bed. My heart was glowing. Despite the enormous size and the grandeur of Alex’s penthouse palace, it was roomy, and here, in his inner sanctum, comfortable.
He sat down on the bed, and I sat next to him.
"What are the restaurant staff saying about all this?” he said.
“Why do you care?” I said. “Aren’t you always saying you don’t care about what other people think?”
“The Blue Orchid’sdifferent,” he replied.
“Some of them think there’s no way you’d ever do a thing like this,” I said.
“And the rest?”
I shrugged. “Some of them think you did it.”
“Sure. Them and everyone else in New York. What do you think?”
“That there’s no way you’d do something like this. You’re too nice. And you’ve worked too hard to risk it all.”
“I don’t want to lose all this, Lola,” he said quietly.
It was the first time the great Alex Lowe had shown me a hint of vulnerability. A moment of weakness. I felt privileged. And a little strange, too. Why did he trust me with that vulnerability? A woman who’d hurt him only a few days ago?
“You’re not going to,” I said. “Me and Zeke, and Jeff, your lawyer. And Andy and everyone who works atThe Blue Orchid. We’re with you.”
Alex looked at me. “You think?” he said.
“Yeah. And we’re counting on you.”
“There is one thing I can be happy about.”
“What’s that?” I wanted him to think about that thing.
“You,” he breathed.
And then my hands were on him.
I pressed them against his chest, felt his pecs beneath his shirt. And I lifted my head, and leaned towards Alex, and kissed his cheek. It was playful, and gentle. A small gesture with which I hoped to show him I was on his side.
He turned to me, and we were nose-to-nose, my eyes meeting his. And for the first time, he looked open, honest, and I could see him for who he really was. Not some invincible superhero, but a man. A man, made of flesh and blood, and suddenly I wanted him to know that no man was an island. I wanted to touch beyond the borders of the walls Alex Lowe threw up around himself. I wanted to comfort him and make him see that he could trust someone.
So I kissed him.
Gently at first, pressing my lips to his, and when I opened my eyes, the world seemed saturated with color again. It was like before everything had been in black and white, like an old movie. But my sensations sharpened, and the world looked new as I leaned in and kissed him again.
Softly, our mouths explored one another, and I heard him purr with satisfaction, and exhale a little. His breath was warm and stoked the fire inside of me to life, and my hands reached up to his jacket and pushed it off.
His jacket slid to the floor, and I reached for his hands and put them on me. Put them on my breasts, my torso, where they gently held my flesh, tenderly squeezing me in the places where Alex knew I wanted to be touched. We were made for each other, our bodies seemed pushed together and perfect. And slowly, he caught my head in his hands, and lowered me onto the bed, where I lay as his strong body covered me. I felt his strength bear down on me, and felt happy to make him feel so strong.
Alex reached down, and undid the black pants I’d worn to work that day. He slipped them off, and his hands reached down as his mouth kissed my neck, a dozen, then two dozen times.
We made out on the bed as we slowly undressed one another. It felt like the first time: like the man I was with was gentle. He commanded me, he controlled me. He was the master of my body and I let him be. But more than that, we were partners. It was something we did together, all the while looking into each other’s eyes.
His hand brushed against my underwear, the last item of clothing I had on. He kissed my breasts, and his tongue moved against one of my nipples. I let out a sigh of pleasure, as he bent low, and slipped off my underwear.
Kneeling by the bed, Alex dropped his head, and kissed my clit gently. I opened my legs, and felt his hands push against my thighs, lifting me a little, angling my body perfectly for him to pleasure me orally. And slowly, he began to curl his tongue, sending shocks of blinding wonder through my groin, up to my chest. I threw a hand into my hair, and gently wound my fingers into his, inviting him as he gripped my body, pressing deeper and harder with his tongue.
Sighing and softly moaning, I felt myself rising up. How long had we been doing this? Five minutes? An hour? I didn’t know anymore. Time had slipped away in the dimly-lit bedroom, and gradually I felt myself coming to a rippling, delicious orgasm, one which left me heaving with breaths and trembling in his arms.
Alex got up on the bed, but I wasn’t done yet. I wanted him. As he laid there, I turned him on his back, and rose above him. A long, wide mirror covered one side of his bed, and for a moment, I took in the sight of myself, my long legs and my arms as I reached down and took hold of his enormous, erect manhood.
I pushed Alex’s cock inside of me, easing myself in gently this time. But I felt used to his size now. Not that it didn’t make me practically shiver with ecstasy as I felt him fill me, heard him groan as I ground on his cock, my hands caressing the soft hairs on his bare chest.
I began to rock back and forth, supporting myself on my knees. But I hardly had to, because Alex’s hands were reaching up to support me. I hardly had to even put pressure on him, and eventually I was going faster, fucking him, as I looked down into his eyes. And he began to respond, driving forwards with me, his hips working underneath me, until I bent over and clasped him in my arms. “Oh God,” I said, “Yes, please, like that, like that!”
I’d never felt so exposed, so naked as I did astride him like that. It made me feel young again, and I realized that being with Alex like this was a way back to a time in my life when I hadn’t been so afraid.
“I missed you,” I said, between my cries of passion.
“I missed you,” he said, and then I heard him cry out, and watched his head go back, as I felt Alex come inside of me. And it was the best feeling I’d ever felt, as he gave me all he had, filling me with warmth and light. When it was over, I was tingling, shaking, and fell beside him, where we kissed and held one another, safe against all the trouble the outside world could bring.
We lay there for a little while, not saying anything, just watching each other. Fascinated to be here again, despite all odds.
Maybe it was time to admit the truth. No matter what happened, we kept getting pulled into these situations. And it wasn’t one person’s fault. It was the both of us. Drawn to one another, even if it meant walking over hot coals.
I looked at the clock on Alex’s bedside table. It was 10.30pm. Still plenty of time to get home.
I got up, and bent down. “I have to go,” I said, and kissed his cheek.
“Okay,” he said. “I can call you a car.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“This was nice,” he said.
“It was, wasn’t it?”